Exciton effective mass enhancement in coupled quantum wells in electric and magnetic fields

Abstract

We present a calculation of exciton states in semiconductor coupled quantum wells in the presence of electric and magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the QW plane. The exciton Schrdinger equation is solved in real space in three-dimensions to obtain the Landau levels of both direct and indirect excitons. Calculation of the exciton energy levels and oscillator strengths enables mapping of the electric and magnetic field dependence of the exciton absorption spectrum. For the ground state of the system, we evaluate the Bohr radius, optical lifetime, binding energy and dipole moment. The exciton mass renormalization due to the magnetic field is calculated using a perturbative approach. We predict a non-monotonous dependence of the exciton ground state effective mass on magnetic field. Such a trend is explained in a classical picture, in terms of the ground state tending from an indirect to a direct exciton with increasing magnetic field.